Writers
Welcome to my Musings for Writers
For those passionate about writing, you’ll find inspiration and advice for writers, details of my journey as a writer, and news about the industry.
Like a Fingerprint
During a fiction writing retreat several years ago, our teacher asked us to select a passage from a favourite book – one in which we admired the writer’s style – and re-write a passage from one of...
Dreams Come True
I am over the moon to announce my debut historical novel The Engraver’s Secret will be published by Harper Collins Australia in March 2024 in Australia, New Zealand and UK. The path to publication...
Dig Deep When it Hurts
Grief and intense sorrow are emotions we all experience in our lives. They can leave us feeling emotionally raw and overwhelmed, struggling to accomplish daily tasks. Several years ago, when I was...
Small Details
One of my favourite pastimes is to visit art museums and focus on the small details in a painting. A pearl bracelet dangling from a wrist. A lace ruffle on a sleeve. A jewel-encrusted ring. Thick...
Beginnings
The opening chapter of a novel is the element that is rewritten, amended and tweaked more than any other part of a story. Ask any writer how many versions of an opening chapter they have written,...
Narrative Distance
The first time I learned about narrative distance – also called psychic distance – I was attending a writers’ workshop in York. It was a light-bulb moment for me. Workshop teacher, author and...
The Power of Nature
Thirty minutes from suburban Melbourne, as the road winds its way through native forest, we enter the tranquillity of the Dandenong Ranges. Mist rises from the forest floor. Late afternoon sunlight...
When Fact Becomes Fiction
I was recently interviewed by a journalist about the release of my historical thriller The Engraver. The Dutch edition of De Graveur spins the tale of famous Baroque painter Rubens, his chief...
Pumpkin Pies and Sensory Immersion
Whenever I smell freshly grated nutmeg, my mind takes me to the kitchen of my childhood home. My dad and I stand side-by-side with our sleeves rolled up, wearing aprons: he mixes canned pumpkin with...